Sometimes, the wind
by sparklehunter
Summary: there were only 2 halliwell children that mattered. Unchanged future, Wyatt and Chris fic.
1. Legos

Sometimes, the wind

sparklehunter

sometimes, memory is the greatest sin of all.

in the changed future, there are 10 halliwell cousins. in the unchanged future, there are only eight. most of them don't matter.

1

_Wyatt can't remember this:_

"Come on, Wy," Chris said. "It's not like anyone will notice."

Sometimes, Wyatt was pretty sure Chris and he had a different Mom. His was Piper Halliwell, eldest Charmed One and bearer of the saddest, most disappointed looks ever. Chris's Mom seemed to be some strange creature who actually believed him when he said, "Honest, Mom, we always had that many Legos!"

"I'm bored," Andy said. "Bored, bored, bored." He paused for effect, and then said: "bored."

"Shut up, Andy!" Miles and Robyn chorused.

Andy scowled at them. "Bored, bored, bored!"

Zach started crying.

"Wyatt!" growled Chris. "Shut up, Andy!"

"Is everything all right up there?" Dad called up the stairs.

"Hurry, Wy!" Robyn hissed. "Uncle Leo's about to orb in!"

Wyatt looked at their Legos, and winced. There weren't a lot there – Mom had boxed away most of Chris and Wyatt's Legos when Zach swallowed one, and even more when he stuck one of the double blocks up his nose – and Robyn and Miles had brought _Dream Racer 4000_ to play with. They had evidently forgotten that Zach had thrown up on the computer. Colby and Andy didn't have Legos; they had bigger, interconnected blocks that were too babyish for Wyatt and Chris to enjoy. Chris and Wyatt (and Zach, now that he was getting big enough to play with them) didn't have enough Legos for seven boys to play with.

Dad orbed in.

Wyatt very carefully did not look at the gigantic mountain of Legos that was threatening a rockslide.

"You okay, Wyatt?" Dad said.

Colby snorted. "Dude," he said, and he was copying Amber across the street, who was really pretty for a girl. "Zach was the one crying." He rolled his blue eyes, just like Amber did when she thought someone was being really stupid.

Dad nodded absently, and gripped Wyatt's shoulder. His hand was warm and firm and it made Wyatt feel sunny inside. Mom always believed Chris when he told her they hadn't done anything wrong, but Wyatt knew that Dad didn't even think Wyatt could break rules. It was cool, but a little scary.

"Okay, buddy," Dad said. He glanced around the attic. "Do your Moms know you guys are playing up here?"

Wyatt said, "Of course. Mom and Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige told us to get out their hair while they talked about the demon that's killing people when they turn 16."

Dad laughed. "Just be careful up here, okay? If any demons drop in, make sure you call me right away."

"Me, too, Dad?" Chris interrupted. "And Zach?"

Dad blinked. "Chris? Wh – of course." And then he orbed out.

All seven boys were quiet for a moment, afterwards. Wyatt was pretty sure their cousins were embarrassed about Dad and how he seemed to forget that Chris existed. Fortunately, Zach wandered over to the Lego Mountain and started babbling to Chris, and the tension broke.

"Wow, Wyatt," Andy breathed. "This is a lot of Legos. Aunt Piper might notice this."

"You think?" Wyatt asked. "I don't think the amount will make a difference." Mom had been sad, lately, and didn't notice a lot of things. Aunt Phoebe said she was sad because the baby had died, and they needed to love her a lot and give her room to grieve. Wyatt was trying, but he missed Mom's cookies and hugs.

"Of course not," said Chris. He was sitting on the floor with Zach in his lap, and they were building with the blue and green Legos. "She'll just think she missed some. I call all the green ones. And Zach calls blue. Right, Zach?"

Zach grinned up at Chris. "Right, Chris!" he said.

"No fair!" said Colby. "I wanted green!"

"I get yellow," Wyatt announced.

"Hey!" said Colby.

"Red," Miles and Andy said. Andy rolled his eyes.

"I want black," said Robyn.

"If you're getting red, I want white," Andy told Miles.

"But I hate gray," Colby complained.

"Too bad," Wyatt said heartlessly. "You snooze, you loose."

Zach gave Colby a green piece; Wyatt forgave him for breaking the rules, but only because he was a baby. He orbed the piece back into Chris's pile and said, "No, Zach."

And then they built.

Colby built spaceships out of gray blocks. He wanted to be an astronaut, and Aunt Phoebe kept telling him he could. Wyatt thought a Colby would make a terrible astronaut – he hated traveling, and still slept in the same room as his twin, even though Aunt Phoebe had offered to separate them. Wyatt slept in the same room as Chris, but that was only because Mom and Dad wanted to have the nursery still be a nursery.

Andy built racecars in white, and he was negotiating with Miles to get some red pieces for patterns in the hood. He wanted to be a racecar driver, like Dromi Luvadan. Chris and Wyatt had gotten Dromi Luvadan to autograph a picture, which they were going to give to Andy on his birthday. Chris hadn't told Wyatt how they were going to get an astronaut to autograph something for Colby.

Miles and Robyn worked together, like Chris and Zach did, only they both did the work, unlike Chris and Zach, and so whatever they were making was sort of weird. Wyatt thought it might be a robot, but Robyn was putting thrusters on it, so maybe it was a jet. Or maybe Miles and Robyn were just being weird again. Miles wanted to be a garbage man, and Robyn wanted to be an Elder. They practically epitomized weird.

Wyatt liked playing with Legos. He always built a big castle, like he imagined Arthur lived in when he was king, and built a huge wall around it so none of Arthur's enemies (like Morgan le Fay or Lancelot) could get in.

When Wyatt finished his wall, he looked over to see Chris watching him. Chris's eyes sometimes looked too old, like he was Mom or an Aunt. He was sort of absently pulling Zach's hand away from him mouth, too, so Zach didn't swallow another Lego.

"What?" said Wyatt.

"You didn't put a door in," Chris said.

"Wyatt never puts a door in," Andy said.

"It'd be a drawbridge," Miles said. "Because it's a castle."

"Whatever," Chris said, and rolled his eyes, but he didn't look much like Amber. He crawled across the attic floor and started pulling at the blocks on the wall.

"Hey, don't touch!" Wyatt snapped.

"Shut up, Wy, I'm just putting in a door."

"I don't want a door," Wyatt argued.

Chris started putting blocks back in. Zach said, "Chris, Lego? For Wyatt!" and passed him little blocks.

Chris said, "How am I supposed to visit if you have a giant wall up?"

"You'll live there with me," Wyatt said. "All of us will. When I get Excalibur, and get to be King. And no one will be able to get in."

"But I don't want to live in a castle!" Robyn said. "You can't make me!"

Wyatt was pretty sure everyone would be a lot better off if they all just listened to him. He knew what he was talking about. The wall was a very important part of the castle. "Chris," he started.

"There," Chris said. "One door. Drawbridge," he said, seeing Miles' look.

"You didn't listen to me," Wyatt said. "I didn't want a door. Or a drawbridge."

"I wouldn't want to live in the castle," Chris said. "I want to explore."

Chris, Wyatt thought, a little angry, would make a great astronaut.

"I'm bored," said Andy. "This always happens whenever we play. Wyatt starts getting boring."

"Hey!" said Wyatt, and Chris, and Zach.

"You are!" said Colby. "You always want to lock us up and never let us do anything. I wanted to play outside, but no, Wyatt wanted to play Legos in the attic!"

"You didn't have to play with us!" Wyatt shouted.

"You wouldn't let me go outside!"

"It's getting dark out!" Wyatt protested. "Zach's a demon magnet. It's dangerous!"

"No," spat Andy. "You just want to rule our lives."

"I hate you!" Wyatt yelled. "I don't care if you do die by demons! Fine. Go outside. But don't ask for me to save you when demons attack!" He grabbed Andy's racecar and threw it at the wall, shattering it.

"I hate you!" Andy screamed, and knocked over Wyatt's wall. "And your stupid wall. You're so stupid Wyatt. You—"

Wyatt choked back another yell and smashed another racecar against the wall, too furious to speak. What did Andy know? There was no one out there that could be trusted. The world was dangerous, and he wanted to do stupid stuff like play outside after dark.

Andy grabbed up handfuls of Legos, and hurled them back at Wyatt. "Don't touch my cars!" he shouted. "You always ruin things, Wyatt!"

Wyatt retaliated, using bits of his wall to pelt Andy as hard as he could. Andy flung with both hands, but his aim was bad. Wyatt was years older and practiced flinging stuff around with Dad every weekend, so he was winning, until Colby chucked his spaceship at Wyatt. It shattered on his knee, and hurt, and Wyatt screamed at them,

"I hate you I hate you!"

In the background, Chris was saying, "Be careful! Stop it, you're gonna hit Zach!" over and over again, but Wyatt couldn't hear him, and Andy and Colby weren't stopping, either.

"This is what I think of your stupid wall!" Colby snarled, and threw Robyn's robot at the remains of Wyatt's castle.

The entire setup shattered. Little plastic blocks flung all about the attic, and Chris shouted,

"Zach!"

He sounded terrified, and Wyatt spun to see Chris hunched around their little brother, little plastic blocks bouncing off his head and arms. Zach was crying again.

Colby and Andy turned, too, staring at Zach.

"Chris –" Andy said, right as the attic door slammed open and Mom said,

"Just what is going on up here?!" in her I'm-really-mad-but-trying-not-to-show-it voice.

Colby said, "Wyatt's a jerk!"

"No, he's not!" Chris glared at Colby, arms still wrapped around Zach.

"Colby blew up my castle and almost hurt Zach!" Wyatt announced.

Mom frowned. "Zach?"

Zach was still sniffling, but he poked his head out between Chris's arms. "Mommy!" he said. "I got a booboo!" and waved his hand at her.

Mom scooped Zach out of Chris's lap. "Chris, why didn't you orb?" she demanded. "It's okay, honey, Mommy's here. Here, I'll kiss it better," she shushed Zach.

Chris froze, looking at her.

"Robyn, tell me what happened," Mom ordered.

Robyn looked hesitant. "We were playing Legos," he said.

Mom sighed, and then said. "All six of you know you aren't supposed to play with Legos. You always end up at each others' throats, and this time Zach got hurt. What if you'd knocked his eye out, or something?"

"Well," said Colby, "We probably would have called Aunt Paige."

Mom was startled into a smile. "Aunt Paige?" she aked. "I suppose you would, wouldn't you. Alright, then. I still want to hear apologies."

"Mom!" "Aunt Piper!" "Aunt Piper!" Wyatt and Colby and Andy all said.

"Now," said Mom.

"Sorry for putting in a drawbridge," Chris said.

"Sorry," said Miles.

"I'm sorry, Wyatt!" Zach said. Wyatt almost smiled at that, but it was going to be his turn, soon.

"Sorry," Robyn muttered. "You aren't a jerk, Wyatt."

Andy scuffed his feet. "Sorry, Wyatt," he said.

Wyatt said, "Sorry."

"Me, too," said Colby. Andy smacked him across the shoulder, and Colby said, "Ow! Okay, I'm sorry!"

"Alright," Mom said, nodding. "Now, I think we all need some cool-down time. Wyatt, Chris, bedroom. Miles, Robyn, kitchen. Andy, Colby, living room. And you, little man," Mom said to Zach. "You come with me."

"Mommy!" Zach cried, and kissed her. "We played Legos! And we threw them all over. All over!"

"That's right," Mom said, almost amused. "You did. Okay, you six, get going. And when you're done with the time-out, you guys are going to be picking all of these up. Where did they all – Wyatt!"

Wyatt scrambled downstairs before she could say anything more.

"Told you so," he said to Chris.

Chris grinned at him. "Yeah, but you can just get rid of the ones you conjured, right?"

Behind them, Wyatt heard Mom muttering a spell. "If Mom doesn't do it herself," he said.

Chris bumped his shoulder as they turned off into their room.

"We're alright, though?" he asked.

Wyatt shrugged. "I guess," he said, bumping him back. They both curled up on Wyatt's bed.

Chris said, "It's a shame about the Legos."

Wyatt smiled. "Well, I may have managed to save a few," he said.

At Chris's look, he grinned and rolled over. "I didn't get to see what you made," Wyatt explained. "So once Colby started throwing stuff, I orbed it to our room." He pulled himself to the edge of the bed and looked down. In blue and green miniature, the Golden Gate Bridge rested majestically on their floor.

"Cool," said Chris.

"Bridges, again?" Wyatt asked.

"Walls, again," Chris shot back.

Wyatt orbed the bridge to his dresser. "We'll keep it there," Wyatt declared. "You know, the only survivor of the Lego Massacre of 2013. Maybe it can get a medal."

"Shut up, Wy," Chris said amicably, and then said "Oof!" as Zach orbed onto his stomach. "Hi."

"Hi, Chris, hi, Wyatt," Zach said. "Legos?" and held out two baby handfuls of green and blue building blocks.

tbc


	2. Burn

**Sometimes, the wind**

sparklehunter

_sometimes, memory is the greatest sin of all._

_in the changed future, there are 10 halliwell cousins. in the unchanged future, there are only eight. most of them don't matter._

* * *

2.

_Chris is the only one who remembers this:_

When he came to, Chris couldn't see.

He could hear, though, the sounds of breathing, and a wet sound that he recognized as blood in a lung. Someone was saying, "shhhh," soft and low, and there was an echo. His own pulse sounded like a drum, a low steady roar in his ears, and somewhere to the left, a clock ticked on.

Chris's head rested on something soft; he thought it might be a thigh. There was a heavy hand in his hair, and something draped over his arms. He had been wearing a t-shirt, Chris thought, but then there had been demons, and Robyn's screams.

"Rr," Chris said. His tongue felt thick and dry in his mouth, so he licked his lips and swallowed. "Robyn."

"Don't try to talk," Wyatt said. "The potion's still healing your chest; you could mess it up."

Oh, Chris thought, and promptly rolled away. Were his eyes were open? He couldn't tell. His hands were working, though, and he brought one up defensively in the direction of Wyatt's presence. Wyatt was right, his lungs spasmed with every breath, but that was _Wyatt_.

"Lay back!" Wyatt ordered, a little desperately. "Chris, don't be a fool, you could rupture an organ!"

"Where is he?" Chris spat out. Something dribbled down his chin with the words, and it tasted like blood. "Where is he, Wyatt?"

"Lay down and I'll tell you," Wyatt argued. "I'll bring him to you, just lay down." Wyatt was moving closed; Chris could hear the footsteps. Chris moved back as best he could, and found himself on his elbows and knees. My lungs, Chris thought, horrified. Why can't I breathe?

Wyatt's hands hovered above Chris for a moment, waiting to see if Chris would run again. Chris didn't have the energy, and so Wyatt wrapped a careful arm around his shoulders, easing him back and taking some of the pressure off his chest. Chris found himself tugged into Wyatt's lap, Wyatt's hands settling on his shoulders.

"I can't see," Chris said. "Where's Robyn?"

"You said his eyes would be fine," Wyatt snapped.

There was someone else in the room, then. Chris strained his senses, until he heard the whisper of robes, and a soft voice.

"His nerves may be swollen, your Majesty. His sight should return, soon." The voice hesitated before continuing. "Or he may never—"

The spark-fizzle that always accompanied Wyatt's blinking vanquishes cut off the words. Something wet (potion, it was that terrifying healing potion Wyatt used) was poured over Chris's eyes, and it seemed to burn through his lids. Chris screamed and convulsed, and Wyatt hunched down over him, pressing his forehead to his shoulder.

"It only hurts for a minute," Wyatt soothed. "Shhh, shhh."

Chris banged his fist into the ground. "Where," he ground out between waves of pain, "is -Ro-bynn!"

"I told you to stop talking!" Wyatt hissed. "So stop! Dammit, Chris, why do you do everything the hard way?"

"Robyn," Chris repeated. "F-fiv-ve f-foot –fiv-vve, bbrown h-hai-hair --""Someone bring me my cousin," Wyatt snarled. "Now close your mouth and let the potions work."

Things started to come into fuzzy reality. Wyatt was looking down at him, his eyes black and tense, with a bruise shading his cheek. The room around him was large and brown, all wooden walls and – the attic, it was the attic. If Chris tilted his head, he could see three large boxes marked 'Legos' in Mom's bold script. The old blanket from the couch was spread over him.

"You n-need a hairc-cu-t," Chris said.

Wyatt tightened his grip on his shoulders. "I like it long. Shut up."

"It's getting easi-easier to breath."

Wyatt opened his mouth to say something, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips, when a demon shimmered in with Robyn. Robyn looked singed, like he'd been caught in a momentary fire. His hair was smoking and his lashes were gone. The edges of his hoodie had melted, leaving his hands and neck red and raw.

"As you can see, Robyn's fine," Wyatt said.

Chris started struggling up. "He's smo-king!" he cried. "Ho-ww is that fi-ine?"

He had caught Wyatt off guard; he made it to his feet and to Robyn's side before Wyatt could scramble up. Chris tore down the zipper of the hoodie, cursing as hot metal burned his skin, and stripped it off, before going to work on Robyn's soft pajama bottoms. Everything was synthetic, Chris thought, it was all synthetic and why wasn't Robyn doing anything?

Wyatt reached around Chris to help out. "He must have tried to escape," he said. "There's a barrier around the manor for prisoners; his trying to orb must have set it off."

"Oh," said Chris, "So it's all okay that you fried our cousin, because he was trying to escape?" That took all the breath he had, so he rocked back and let Wyatt finish removing the clothing from Robyn's body.

"He should have known better," Wyatt said, using his telekinesis to steady Chris. "You would have known better."

"He's thirteen," Chris said, touched Robyn's shoulder. "Hey, Robyn? Robbie, you in there."

Watching the life fill Robyn's dark eyes was like watching light fill a stained glass window. Robyn blinked and looked at Chris, and then stumbled forward into his arms.

"Chris," he said. "Chris."

Chris was horrified to realize Robyn was crying, and that every move he made sent a shower of ash from his hair.

"Heal him," Chris said. "Goddammit Wyatt, heal him!"

Wyatt frowned. "He needs to learn to do as I say."

"Wyatt!" Chris demanded.

Wyatt only looked at him with dead black eyes, and Chris held back a scream.

"Please," Chris said.

Wyatt shrugged. "This is more important that some first degree burns, Chris."

Every time Chris thought his brother was back, every time he remembered the brilliant blue of Wyatt's eyes, something happened, something that made his gut churn and his eyes burn with tears. This was Robyn, quiet little Robyn, who liked robots and science fiction, and wanted to be a whitelighter like his Mom. This was Robyn, crying from pain in his arms, smelling of smoke and burned hair. This was Robyn, who Wyatt wouldn't heal.

The burn in his lungs had finally faded, but Chris still couldn't breathe.

"Now that you've seen him, we can get down to business," Wyatt announced.

"No," said Chris.

"I want you and Zach to move back in to the manor," Wyatt continued.

"No," said Chris, louder.

"We'll put Zach back in school, but on a fast track to graduate. You and I –"

"I said no!" Chris shouted. "No! You want me to talk to you? Then send me a letter, call me, send me a text, don't kidnap me and my cousin and then refuse to heal him! I'm not listening to you, I won't listen to you, Wyatt, I won't!"

Wyatt glared at Chris. "I did heal him," he said slowly, meanly. "I healed the head injury and I healed the broken bones and I healed the hand that was almost sawed off. And I healed your chest where it was burned through and your knee where it was shattered and your skull where it was fractured and your eyes which were blind."

"He's still burned," Chris whispered. "His skin feels like paper, Wyatt."

"That's his own fault."

Chris turned his head into the ashes of Robyn's hair so Wyatt wouldn't see him cry. "He's still a little kid, Wyatt."

"He's a Halliwell," Wyatt said. "He should know better."

Wyatt started talking again, about Zach and school and ruling the world. Chris ignored him, too busy trying to control the tears in his eyes. This wasn't Wyatt. Wyatt didn't want to rule the world, didn't want to kill people, and didn't leave people burning to teach a lesson. Wyatt loved Robyn and made rainbows for Zach's birthday and helped Chris cook breakfast in the morning for everyone, because no one else could cook in the house. Wyatt had promised not to leave Chris alone after Mom died, but here Chris was, alone, his little cousin burning in his arms.

When Wyatt stopped talking, Chris looked up at him. "I need to think about this," he said carefully. "I'm going to go to my room, okay?" and scooped Robyn into his arms to carry him down the attic stairs.

He could feel Wyatt's eyes on him, and shivered.

His bedroom was the same as he had left it, six months before. The bed wasn't made, because he'd been sleeping when Uncle Cole had told him what Wyatt was about to do. That had brought everything home, had made everything real, and Chris hadn't bothered to do anything other than a 30 second pack before going to help Zach and Grandpa. His books were still on the shelves, his wall adaptor was still next to the monitor, and most of his clothing was still in the closet. There was no dust, which was a little creepy.

Chris laid Robyn on the bed, running his fingers lightly through ashy hair before turning away. He found jeans and boxers and a shirt, and took them to the bathroom with a towel. Robyn was still crying when Chris led him to the tub.

"Why, Chris?" he kept saying. "It hurts so bad."

Chris ran the bath cold, hoping to cool the skin, and dumped Robyn in dressed in his boxers. Robyn gasped.

"Cold!" he said, happily. "I was so hot . . . ." and fell silent.

"Can you wash yourself?" Chris asked.

Robyn nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I – Chris, what's going on?"

Cold was bad for shock, Chris knew, and Robyn had been in shock, but it was good for burns, and the skin on Robyn's shoulders was already blistering. The clarity in Robyn's gaze made him think that maybe the cold had snapped him out of it.

"Wyatt has us," Chris said, after a long moment of trying to decide what to say. "Here, let me do your hair. I don't want you stressing those blisters."

Robyn nodded, bending his head toward Chris, and Chris continued.

"You were burned when you tried to orb out of here. He wants Zach and me to come home."

Robyn shivered. "He's a psycho, Chris."

Chris felt like he was eighty five, not fifteen, and rinsed soap and ash from his hands. "I'm gonna go see if we have burn cream."

As he walked out of the bathroom, he could feel Robyn's eyes on him, just like Wyatt.

Wyatt met him at the first aid kit in the kitchen. "I thought you were going to be in your room," he said, looking away from the demon at the table next to him.

Chris suppressed his instinct to vanquish. "I need the first aid kit," he bit out. It wasn't under the sink, anymore. After some searching, Chris found that Wyatt had moved it to the cupboard by the stove.

"I don't use it," Wyatt explained.

Chris slammed the cupboard shut, first aid kit in hand. "I would have guessed that," he said, and orbed upstairs.

He had half expected it to hurt, to be shot through with fire and end up screaming on the floor. Chris should have realized Wyatt wouldn't put it up within the house, not for Chris.

Robyn was stepping out of his boxers when Chris orbed in, and he dropped with a yelp to the floor of the tub when he realized someone was there.

"Chris!" he said. "Warn a guy!"

Chris rolled his eyes. "You have nothing I'd be looking at," he said lightly, and tossed Robyn a towel. "If you're done, come here."

Robyn grumbled under his breath, but wrapped the towel around his waist and gingerly stepped from the tub. "Why were you gone so long?" he said, hopping onto the sink.

Chris uncapped the burn cream, and frowned at the small tube. "Wyatt moved the first aid kit," he explained. "I'm going to start with your face, and go down until we run out."

Robyn had always complained about how scrawny he was, compared to Wyatt, who played football, and his older brother, Miles, but Chris was grateful. There was less of Robyn to slather with cream than there would have been Wyatt or Miles or even Chris. There were blisters on Robyn's face, by then, and ropes of them encircling his wrists and waist. The rubbing the cream into then tore some of them open, and Chris tried to remember what he knew about burns, and whether that was good or bad. He thought it was a good sign that the burns weren't too deep.

"Chris, what are we gonna do?" Robyn asked. "I tried to orb out, and I couldn't. Wyatt has the Manor crawling with demons. I –" he fell silent.

Chris finished the burns on Robyn's torso, and knelt down to do his calves. The blisters had all popped, by then, and Robyn was starting to flinch as he worked.

"When we get hone, we'll wrap you up in ice," Chris said. "That should help, right?"

Robyn's voice came from behind clenched teeth. "But how, Chris?"

Chris found himself hesitating. "I have an idea," he said, "But let's not talk about it. How much does this all hurt? On a scale of one to ten."

"Where one's a paper cut and ten is me committing suicide?" Robyn asked. "A seven. Or maybe an eight. I can barely breathe, Chris, and Wyatt's in the house, and I'm scared. I want my Dad."

Chris nodded. "I know, kiddo," he said. "I promise you, I'll get you to your Dad soon. Now, stand up so I can wrap these."

The first aid kit didn't have enough bandages for all the burns, so Chris ripped up some of his old t-shirts to use, and Robyn couldn't lift his arms, so Chris pulled on a t-shirt, and the jeans were too stiff, so Chris used an old pair of pajama pants, instead. When they were done, Robyn looked a lot like a mummy, but it was better than nothing.

Chris looked at Robyn. Robyn's eyes were wrinkled with pain, and he jaw was so tight he looked like Leo when Leo was talking to Chris or Uncle Cole. His hair was sort of crispy, too, and the rest of his eyebrows had fallen off in the bath, so he looked like an old-time cancer patient. Chris wrapped his arms gently around him, and Robyn sniffled.

"It hurts, Chris," Robyn whispered.

Chris said, "It'll be okay, Robyn," and carried Robyn back to his bedroom.

He put Robyn back on the bed, pulling a blanket on top, and then turned and closed the door. He could hear Wyatt downstairs, talking to someone in flat, arrogant syllables. Chris clenched his fists, and walked to his desk.

The monitor was halfway holographic, since a fully holographic monitor cost too much, and the processor and hard drive and memory were all included. It was actually a portable version, the replacement of the original laptop, and Chris has complained more than once to Grandpa about forgetting it. However, the internet access was still working, and Chris figured it was probably a Zach thing, that he'd forgotten it, because if this worked, it would be a miracle.

It was a Zach thing, because Uncle Cole answered on the first chime, and Chris could see Zach sitting at the table behind him.

"Oh, God, Chris," Uncle Cole said. "Thank God. We thought you might be dead. Where are you?"

"Shh!" Chris hissed.

"Is that Uncle Cole?" Robyn whispered.

Chris nodded absently. "Uncle Cole, we're at the Manor. Can—"

"Robyn's with you?" Cole asked.

"Yes," Chris whispered, "But so is Wyatt, so can we make this fast? We can't orb out of here, but I think you could shimmer. We're in my room."

Uncle Cole vanished from the screen before Chris finished speaking. Chris turned, and there he was, hovering worriedly over Robyn.

"What happened?" Uncle Cole asked.

"Can we just leave?" Chris asked, picking up the monitor. "I'll tell you later."

Uncle Cole gave his a nod, and scooped Robyn into his arms. Chris tucked in next to them, and then the entire world was fading into heat.

When everything came back into focus, the three of them were in the living area. Uncle Glenn was walking into the room at the same moment, and saying:

"I just want to find my son, Leo, it isn't that hard. Can't you just sense him or – Robbie!" and was pulling Robyn out of Cole's arms and into his own so fast Chris thought he probably had whiplash.

Leo was standing a few feet off. "I told you, you just need a little faith, Glenn," he said.

Chris swallowed, and took a step back. "I have a meeting," he said. "I think I'm late. Uncle Cole, can you make sure Leo doesn't leave without –"

"Chris?" Leo said. "What are you doing?"

Chris looked at Leo, and felt more helpless than he had back at the Manor with Wyatt, and Robyn smoking in his arms.

"I," he said. "I was. . . ."

"He rescued me, Uncle Leo," Robyn said, when it was obvious Chris wouldn't continue. "Wyatt had me, and Chris saved me."

Leo stepped closer. "Then – why are you covered in bandages, Robbie?"

Glenn hissed at Leo, "Idiot," but Chris barely heard it.

"I have a meeting," Chris repeated. "I have to go. I – you'll be okay, Robyn, didn't I tell you?" and he orbed out.


End file.
